The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Investor Education Foundation has announced the recipients of its first annual Military Spouse Fellowships. The fellowships recognize military spouses for outstanding service and dedication to service members and their families.
The Finra Foundation named Cherie Stueve its Fellow of the Year. Stueve, a 2011 graduate of the fellowship program, is the spouse of a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer.
The Finra Foundation also announced that it was naming Andi Wrenn its Mentor of the Year. Wrenn, a 2008 Finra Foundation fellowship graduate, is the widow of a former U.S. Air Force colonel.
Created in 2006, the fellowships give military spouses the opportunity to earn a career-enhancing credential—the Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) certificate—while providing financial counseling and education to the military community.
Since the program’s start, the Finra Foundation has awarded more than 1,500 fellowships. Fellows are spouses of currently serving or retired service members in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard. Fellows are selected from a competitive pool of applicants and train in military communities worldwide.
While working toward the AFC credential, fellows have provided financial counseling and education to more than 185,000 service members and spent more than 465,000 hours helping military families reach their financial goals in the United States and around the world.
Following the completion of the program, fellows are certified to support the military community as financial counselors at family readiness and support centers, credit counseling and tax centers, military relief societies and credit unions throughout the U.S. and internationally. Fellows undergo rigorous training, coursework and experiential hours to gain hands-on experience, all at no cost to them.
The program is administered in partnership with the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) and the National Military Family Association (NMFA).